Searching for Paradise On The Way to La Cruz – May 1 – 22

The direct route from Marina Ixtapa to La Cruz de Huanacaxtle (which readers of this blog know as one of our favorite places) is about 331 miles.  Our bay-hopping itinerary made it a longer but a much more enjoyable voyage.  The entire trip was spent travelling through territory we had visited before, but as we have learned in every journey there is the possibility of new experiences.  This trip we learned that there is more than one way to experience paraíso (paradise).

Marina Ixtapa to Bahía Santiago – May 1 to 6

That said, our first leg, a three-day trip to Bahía Santiago, was not paradisiacal.  We managed to eke out only 20 hours of sailing during the 47-hour trip (40%) because low night winds (several hours at 2 to 4 knots) and the combined high swells and moderate winds during the day required us to use the motor to make headway. 

We set anchor at Bahía Santiago late morning on May 3^rd after two nights underway and found that the bay was no longer in the grip of the tourist frenzy that is Semana Santa.  But as the weekend dawned on Saturday, it was clear that the bay is also a popular short-break destination and that we were destined to be entertained once again by jet skis, banana rides and tour boats.  Bryce’s favorite tour boat encounter during this stay:  As the boat approached, blasting 80’s rock-n-roll, the guide announced over the loud speaker that the bay often hosted sailboats from all around the world, and that this boat (Abracadabra) was occupied by gringos. 

Aside:  Life can be interesting when you fly the US flag as publically as one does when sailing a US-registered vessel.  When Bryce was deciding whether to become a US citizen, Molly warned him that traveling on a US passport was different than traveling as a Canadian; that he would no longer benefit from the international assumption that, as a Canadian, he was polite, friendly and peace-loving.  But he took the oath anyway.  Now that is real patriotism – taking the bad with the good. 

The use of the occasional derogatory descriptive term aside, most Mexicans are very kind and polite to US citizens; sometimes because they actually like the US, and sometimes because Mexicans are generally polite to visitors.  During one of our trips to shore in Bahía Santiago two Mexican couples spending the day on the beach with their teenagers invited us to join them.  They wanted to hear about our trip to Mexico and to tell us how much they enjoyed their travels in the US.  They shared their beer with us and would have been happy to let us have one of their beach cocktails (a vile sounding mixture of cognac, mineral water and Coca Cola) had we not declined their offers.  We explained that we couldn’t drink much because we had to launch our dinghy into fairly substantial surf. 

We managed to restrict our intake to only two Coronitos (cute little 6 ounce sized Coronas) each, and to politely extract ourselves from the party.  We were ready to launch.  However, our two male hosts insisted on “helping us”.  Lesson learned:  It’s not enough that the dinghy crew remain sober; the launch crew must also be sober!  Our hosts were not annoyingly drunk by any means – but they weren’t in top dinghy launching form.  Fortunately, the only damage resulting from the Keystone Cops maneuver that got us off the beach was a thorough soaking of all parties.  Bryce managed to row through the surf before starting the engine (our new favorite departure technique – whatever happens in the surf happens without the engine prop spinning into someone), so we got back to Abracadabra with our groceries still in the boat and our hats and sunglasses on!

Bahía Santiago to Bahía Tenacatita – May 6 - 8

Not the perfect journey: an eight and a half hour trip with seven hours on the motor.  We turned in at Barra de Navidad to buy some fuel, worried that if these low winds kept up we might not make it to La Cruz with the fuel on board.

We anchored and enjoyed a quiet evening aboard.  Sadly, the next morning we awoke to find that  Abracadabra was surrounded by scary-looking red water.  We seemed to be experiencing what is often referred to as “red tide” but (according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s website) is more accurately referred to as a “harmful algal bloom”.  NOAA’s website explains that not all algal blooms are harmful, but since we’re not equipped to tell the difference, and we just thought the red water looked a bit icky (our own highly scientific term) we decided to forego a trip to shore and depart the next day. 

Our only neighbor was an Armada Mexicana vessel,

Nice, Quiet Neighbors

so when we woke to see clear water the next morning, we were tempted to stay an enjoy Bahia Tenacatita in the low season.  But we decided to push on to a little bay to the north that we had always wanted to visit – Paraíso.  Who wouldn’t want to visit a place called “Paradise”? 

Bahía Tenacatita to Paraíso – May 8 – 10

Making up for our prior low wind adventures, the universe granted us a day of perfect sailing.  We turned the engine off as we left Bahía Tenacatita and we didn’t listen to the beast again until we arrived in Paraíso five hours later.  We had south-east winds of from 10 to 16 knots all day (warm, clear, beautiful, yada yada yada). 

And yes, we found Paraíso to be aptly named.  Every other time we had passed this tiny little bay it had been fully occupied.  This time it was occupied by Abracadabra – period.  Well, we shared the bay with some day kayakers from a nearby hotel and a few fishermen, but no other boat was anchored at Paraíso while we were there. 

Abracadabra in Paradise

We swam in the clear, coolish water (it’s all about getting in quickly) and explored the bay’s tiny inlets by dinghy. 

Dinghy Tour of the Bay



Wildlife

We peered into sea caves that were too scary to take our dinghy into.  We watched foam erupt from blow holes and understood how early sailors could believe that dragons live there. . .  We walked on the beach.  We watched beautiful sunsets.

Caption Not Required

We concluded that this was Paraíso. 

We didn’t want to leave, but after a week with only one meal on shore we were beginning to be tired of Molly’s cooking (or rather, Molly was getting really tired of Molly’s cooking . . . ).  Plus, our last sail had been so spectacular that we were encouraged to try it again.

Paraíso to Bahía Chamela – May 10 to 12

And again we won the sailing lottery.  After raising anchor we had a short (2 hours) but perfect down-wind sail to Bahía Chamela.  Dolphins playfully swam beside and under Abracadabra.  Ah yes – this too was paraíso.

We anchored off Pérula, the little town at the north end of Bahía Chamela.  We walked into town and purchased some produce and a couple of beers, visiting every little tienda in town to find the few items we wanted.  Pérula is a sleepy little place.

We had lunch at one of the beachside enramadas.  By April of last year we had become somewhat jaded about the menus at these little enramadas.  Much like dinners at a British pub, the frequent enramada visitor can close his or her eyes, guess what the menu will offer – and almost always avoid surprise.  There will be:

• whole huachinango (red snapper) fixed five ways (frito – fried; ajo – garlic; mantequilla – butter; ajillo – garlic and chilies; empanado – breaded);

• fillets of dorado (mahi mahi) fixed (usually, the same) five ways; and

• medium-sized camarones (shrimp) fixed (usually, the same) five ways. 

Sometimes the menu will include pulpo (octopus) fixed (yes) five ways or one of the five ways will include Veracruzana (in the style of Vera Cruz – garlic, onions, tomatoes, olives).  But after several months on the Mexican coast there will be few surprises for the enramada diner.  The only difference between enramadas is the care taken by the cook. 

But interestingly, after an even longer time traveling the coast this year, we found that we enjoyed our filete dorado ajillo very much.  Perhaps the trick is to eat Molly’s Chicken and Vegetables in Trader Joe’s Bottled Mystery Asian Sauce over Rice two nights in a row before trying something “à la five ways” . . .

Bahía Chamela to La Cruz de Huanacaxtle – May 12 to May 13

From Bahía Chamela we motored directly into low winds and two meter (6 foot) plus swells.  Our perfect sail run was clearly over.  For three hours, we held on and listened to the motor as Abracadabra bucked up and down in the swell.  We kept telling each other not to become disheartened – that it wasn’t necessarily the case that we would have to motor the entire 101 miles to La Cruz. 

And so it came to pass.  Three hours out of Chamela the wind picked up and we put up the spinnaker.  The wind was a little low for the spinnaker, but it was going to be okay. 

And then it wasn’t. 

The swells were making it difficult to keep Abracadabra’s stern from crossing the wind – and at the very moment we took our eyes off the sail to eat some lunch (All Available Vegetables Pasta Salad) the spinnaker wrapped in a most bizarre fashion.  And then it wrapped around the furled jib. 

O...M...G...

Because we couldn’t even figure out how the wrap had started, we decided the best approach was to finish lunch. 

After scooping up our pasta salad, and staring a long time at the mysterious wrap, we decided that the worst case scenario was that we would have to motor to La Cruz and hope that the spinnaker didn’t rip - again.  The best case scenario was that we would somehow manage to unwrap the wrap without ripping the sail.  So - we turned on the motor and slowly turned one way . . . but the wrap didn’t come undone.  We then slowly motored the other way . . . and again it didn’t come undone.  Then Bryce went forward to see if pulling on something would have any positive effect . . . and still it remained wrapped.  To assist Bryce in his undirected tugging attempt, Molly eased the spinnaker sheet and let the spinnaker fly a bit and . . . it started to unwrap!  Bryce just stood there and watched it unwind itself – sort of like watching a tangled rope untangle without assistance.  We’ll never be able to replicate our “fix”– but it worked.  We didn’t even take time to do the “happy spinnaker unwrapping dance” – but hastily furled the spinnaker and decided enough was enough – we’d use the jib in these fluky seas. 

The wind seemed to agree that it was time to put the spinnaker to bed because at about 16.00 the seas flattened and the wind increased and shifted to Abracadabra’s bow.  So we tacked, and tacked again and again – every couple of hours throughout the afternoon, evening and night as we rounded Cabo Corrientes (Cape Currents).  We managed to sail all but 8 hours of the entire 28 hour trip! 

Other than Bryce having to wake up twice during Molly’s night watch to help her tack the big jib the trip was very calm and enjoyable.  All of our encounters with cruise ships and container ships were distant sightings.  The seas were relatively flat and the winds, though from an inconvenient direction, were consistent.  When put into the context of rounding one of Mexico’s most problematic capes – and our past hair-raising encounters with mystery ships in the night -- it was a type of paraíso.

Time-Share Paradise – May 15 - 18

We tied up at the La Cruz marina and called our friends Bob and Kathy Romano who were vacationing in Puerto Vallarta.  We were looking forward to joining them for dinner in the big city, and having them visit us in La Cruz.  However, they reported that they had just completed negotiating an upgrade to their time-share arrangement and had been given three days in a two-bedroom suite with an all-inclusive food and drink plan for four.  Now that’s friendship!

We decided this was a sign that the sea gods had sent us the Romanos and their negotiating skills as a reward for all our good sailing.  So we sent our clothes to the laundry, cleaned up Abracadabra, arranged for a diver to clean off the gunk that had accumulated on her hull in Bahía Zihuatanejo, and took a cab to PV to join our (really, really, really good) friends for three days of all-inclusive air-conditioned relaxation.  And because we’re just that kind of friends, we made sure that they got good value for their negotiations: we ate and drank and napped by the pool for three days.  Ah, yes – yet another way to experience paraíso. 

Bob and Kathy, Hard At Work

We also had two wonderful meals in old-town PV.  If you are visiting the area make sure you spend an afternoon enjoying the view, the tapas and the wine at Tapas Barcelona, and an evening enjoying the nuevo Mexicana cocina at No Way Jose! (don’t be put off by the name – the waiters don’t require you to drink tequila shooters and wear a sombrero – it’s a very good restaurant). 

To Date

Because we couldn’t figure out a way to stay at the time-share without Bob and Kathy’s sponsorship, when they left to go home to Spokane we returned to Abracadabra.  We’re doing boat jobs and planning and preparing for the last leg of our trip north – a 400-mile trip into and across the Gulfo de California (Sea of Cortez). 

But even a working-at-the-dock stay can be fun.  Last weekend a national kite-surfing race was held in Banderas Bay, filling the air with brightly colored kites that looked like a swarm of butterflies. 

Kite Surfers - Banderas Bay

But like sailors everywhere we were most entertained by studying one racer’s attempt to recover his downed kite – rooting for him to overcome the obstacles of current and waves, and cheering on another racer that gave up his race position to assist his compadre.  Neither kite-surfing nor sailing is a solitary activity.

We have looked at weather reports and prepared four days’ worth of underway meals.  We have told the Capitan de Puerto that we are leaving.  One more trip to a tienda to purchase bananas and tomatoes and we’re on our way tomorrow morning.  We’ll report in on that trip once we arrive!  Who knows – maybe we’ll find another bit of paraíso along the way?

Escape to Zihuatanejo – March 30 to April 5

For most North Americans, Bahia Zihuatanejo is where Tim Robbins went after escaping from prison in the Shawshank Redemption.  In the movie’s final scene Robbins’ character is on the beach at Zihuatanejo repairing an old sailboat.  The movie is set in the mid-1960s.  Today one would be hard pressed to find any space on the beach at Zihuatanejo to do boat repairs – but looking between the restaurants and tourist shops that line the bay, one can still see that it is a beautiful place. 

Playa Municipal - Zihuatanejo

Here’s how we got there, and what we found there:      

Bahia Santiago to Zihuatanejo – March 30 to April 1:  We travelled from Bahia Santiago to Zihuatanejo in one long, 189 mile passage because the anchorages along this stretch of coast don’t provide enough protection to make them pleasant places to visit; they are used by cruisers only as safe havens.  We knew there would be a lot of commercial traffic along our route so we spent a lot of time calculating when it would be best to leave Bahia Santiago in order to pass the busy commercial port of Lázaro Cárdenas during the day.  And of course Abracadabra averaged four knots rather than our assumed three and a half, and we ended up passing Lázaro Cárdenas in the middle of the night.  There’s something about best laid plans and mice in there somewhere . . .

To spare you having to bring up your computer’s calculator function, 189 nautical miles at an average speed of four knots per hour means we were underway for about 46.5 hours.  We were able to sail about two-thirds of the way, though because of light winds we had to motor off and on the first night (the log book has entries such as:  “02.00 – motor off!”  “03.10 – motor on!”) and for a couple of hours on the second day. 

On our second morning we found ourselves cruising through a herd of sea turtles.  We were reminded of those cartoons of birds riding on the backs of turtles – because in nature .  . .  they really doI 

"Ride, ride, ride, hitchin' a ride."

Less fun were the four container ships and one cruise ship that passed us at night.  The container ships were lit properly – showing a red light on the port side and a green light on the starboard side in order to communicate their course (e.g., seeing both red and green lights on a container ship that is getting larger would be very bad – that would mean it was headed directly toward you).  But the cruise ship had a red and white moving light display on its side.  It looked like a nightclub marquee and from the perspective of a little sailboat a few miles away it was difficult to tell anything but the fact that it was getting closer.  Fortunately, it eventually became clear that it was getting closer because it was passing us . . . but, frankly, we are beginning to dislike cruise ships. 

An Aside re: Standing Night Watch:  Now that the weather is warmer, we stand watch in four hour shifts: Bryce starts at 19.00, Molly at 23.00, and Bryce again at 03.00.  Molly gets the most sleep at night, but Bryce gets his best rest by making sure that all is well with Abracadabra and is better at napping during the day.  Night watch can be tiring and frightening when the weather is rough, the wind is too high or there are large ships approaching – or just plain annoying when the wind is too low and the sails flog noisily.  Night watch in heavy seas is like an involuntary trip on a carnival ride, blindfolded.  But when the sea state is gentle, the breeze steady and the sky bright with stars, night watch can be a most wonderful communion with the planet and the universe. On a good night watch the helmsperson finds him- or herself thinking “Yes.  This is sailing.  This is why I came.”

After just such a beautiful night we arrived in Bahia Zihuatanejo, and dropped anchor at about 10.00.  We celebrated this season’s furthest point south by taking showers and naps.

Zihuatanejo – April 1 to 4:  We have been visiting Zihuatanejo together for over twenty years (Bryce has been visiting since the early 1970’s!) and at one point or another during each visit, we looked out at the sailboats anchored in the bay and dreamed about arriving in the bay under sail.  And it was just as good as we had thought it would be.  Like arriving at a destination after a long hike, or by kayak or bicycle, arriving after a passage on a sailboat makes the destination seem more earned somehow. 

 We visited places we had enjoyed during other trips, and were also happy to see some changes.  In the last couple of years statues have been added to the waterfront:

Statue of Noble Guerrero Fisherman

As an aside:  While taking a picture of this noble Guerrero fisherman, we spotted (and smelled) two modern-day noble Guerrero fishermen taking a marijuana break down by the shore . . .

Uniform awnings/overhangs and signage has transformed the center of the town.   The shade makes wandering much more pleasant and the uniformity of the downtown is quite attractive – even if it comes dangerously close to making Zihuatanjeo look like a Towne and Country shopping center in an upscale coastal California suburb.

Downtown Zihua

What hasn’t been improved is the quality of the air and water in Bahia Zihuatanejo.  Periodically the air will carry an unpleasant reminder that though the city has proper sewer treatment facilities, not all of the little villages in the mountains outside of town do.  And either no one is in charge of preventing the discharge of oil into the water or the entity in charge is not doing an effective job – Abracadabra took on a very unpleasant grungy ring around her hull in only a few short days.  To those looking down from the hotels and restaurants rimming the bay, everything still looks lovely.  We can only hope that the Mexican government realizes that for the protection of its citizens – particularly the less affluent who swim and fish there – the bay needs to be cleaned up.

Fishing In Zihua Bay

And perhaps there would be a slight boost to the local tourist economy if conditions were improved for yatistas and sport fisherperson. 

For those considering a visit to Zihuatanejo: don’t hesitate to go – it’s a lovely place -- just swim at your hotel’s pool, or at beach further along the coast! 

So, while we enjoyed visiting town from our home on Abracadabra, and we hope to visit again next year – possibly during Guitarfest next March (http://www.zihuafest.info) -- we didn’t really enjoy anchoring in the bay, and moved on to another destination.    

Isla Grande / Isla Ixtapa – April 4:   After three nights in Zihua we decided to try the anchorage at Isla Grande (aka Isla Ixtapa) about ten miles to the north.  The island is a popular tourist day trip destination – no one lives on the island, but it is home to several enramadas and jetski venders.  We sailed to the island, and squeezed Abracadabra into one of the two small bays, just to the side of the route taken by the water taxis that shuttle tourists to and from the island. 

Our location gave us a front and center view of the water taxi traffic as well as the beach antics of the tourists.  After a while Molly began to consider the possibility of a stern mounted water cannon for zapping jetskis . . . but finally the day drew to a close and we watched the last tourists leave, the restaurants close down, and the cooks, kitchen staff and waitstaff depart.  Last to leave were the water taxi drivers, and the garbage boat.  Finally, dark came and we shared the bay with only empty water taxis. 

The next morning we were awakened by the water taxis bringing the workers back to the island, and by the time we left at around 09.30, tables and chairs were out at several of the enramadas.  The business day had begun.   

Marina Ixtapa — April 5

We sailed the five miles into Bahia de San Juan de Dios to our next destination - Marina Ixtapa. 

Molly on Foredeck

As we approached the marina entrance, we furled our sails and started the engine -- and when we saw the swell at the entry to the harbor, we were glad we had the engine nicely warmed up.  The surf into the narrow entry wasn’t the most exciting we’ve seen – but there was one very big break, which meant arrival time would have been a very bad time to lose the engine! 



Surf's Up At Marina Ixtapa

We spent one night at the marina before leaving Abracadabra there to move to The Land of Towel Art on the 6th.  We will post about our time in the tourist zone soon!

Semana Santa 2013 – March 24 – 31

Technical Note:  In this post we have uploaded some video clips we took while playing with our camera.  They take some time to download.  Let us know if you find them more of an annoying hog of bandwidth than they are amusing! 

* * * * * * *

To put this portion of our trip into perspective we should explain a little bit about the phenomenon of Semana Santa.  Semana Santa means the week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, an important annual event in the Christian calendar.  And in a country where a large portion of the population self-identify as Catholic, Semana Santa is important as a religious celebration.  But the term Semana Santa is also used to refer to the combination of Holy Week and the week following (Semana Pascua) as a period of secular holiday-making.  Everyone in Mexico who is not employed in the tourist industry goes on vacation during this period.  We’ve been told that the first week (Semana Santa) is the week that workers are given off and Semana Pascua is when management vacations.  Schools and universities are all closed during this two-week period.

Our observations are limited to Semana Santa beach activities, so we do not have the full picture.  But at the beach Semana Santa something like a combination of a family reunion, 4^th of July party and spring break – On Steroids. 

And it’s fun. 

But, unless you’re looking for a crowded, busy and noisy vacation or are interested in doing a sociological study of Samana Santa celebrations, we recommend that non-Mexican tourists skip these two weeks.  It’s fun to watch the party, but there really isn’t any room for us.  Literally.  Mid-way through Samana Santa we were told that no tables were available at an enramada (an informal beach-side restaurant) in Bahia Santiago.  In our collective decades of travel in Mexico, neither of us has ever been told that a beach restaurant is full.  This is the land of the entrepreneur: there’s always another plastic table that can be dragged from the back and set up on the beach, one more fish to put on the grill and more beers or Coca-Cola in the refrigerator.  To be told that there was no room meant that the enramada system had been stretched beyond capacity. 

So – enjoy visiting Mexico, but check your calendar before you book your flight and skip Semana Santa and Semana Pascua!

Ensenada Carrizal – March 25 – 29

Notwithstanding our dire warnings about Semana Santa, we were able to find one spot of relative quiet -- Ensenada Carrizal, a lovely little bay twenty miles south of Barra de Navidad. 

Our trip to Carrizal wasn’t all that pleasant because we had to use the motor for much of the trip due to low winds and high-ish (6 foot) swells.  But the trip had exciting moments:  We saw two orcas (killer whales), a mother and calf, shortly after leaving Barra.  Orcas aren’t often seen this far south, but we are sure of what we saw as their black and white markings are very distinctive.  Of course, like most of our sightings, you’ll have to take our word for it.  By the time we scrambled for a camera . . . they had swum gracefully past. 

Less thrilling but still exciting to us was the container ship that came within 2.5 miles of Abracadabra.  Container ships up close are really big, and because they are less agile than orcas so we got a picture of the one that came so close:

Really Big.  Close Enough.

We spent four nights at Ensenada Carrizal as the only full-time resident boat, but we didn’t feel lonely!  Carrizal is a destination bay for snorkelers, so from morning to dusk we shared the bay with from two to four small boats delivering snorkelers from hotels in nearby bays. 

This prompted Molly to go snorkeling -- declining Bryce’s offer to row her to the snorkeling spot because she thought it would be fun to swim to shore.  Unfortunately she failed to fully appreciate the effect of the current (against her) and forgot the truism that the shore always looks closer from the boat than the boat does from the shore (we’re not quite sure why this is, but it is true).  In ignorant, amnesiac bliss she struck off  . . . and after about half-an-hour of making little headway against the current and sucking down an unpleasant amount of salt-water she came to the realization that she isn't really a very strong swimmer and that she wasn't going to make it to her destination.  The next realization was that her options were to let the current drift her to a rocky shore from which it would be difficult for Bryce to retrieve her, call for help, or drown.  She chose to call for help and her knight in shining t-shirt mounted his poly-vinyl-chloride steed (the dinghy) and rowed to her rescue.  Totally humiliated, she was too tired to climb into the dinghy and had to  cling to the transom while Bryce rowed her to Abracadabra.    

The next day Bryce taxied her to and from the snorkeling spot in the dinghy and she took along a floating boat fender for floating assistance.  She saw lots of very pretty fish and sucked down very little salt water.  Lesson learned.  Our shopping list now includes a boogie board to be used as a snorkeling float. 

We decided we should head further south in order to meet the schedule(ish) that we had set for ourselves, so once the weather promised a good sail we left Ensenada Carrizal and sailed the six miles to the anchorage near the Las Hadas resort in Bahia Manzanillo (famous as the location of the movie Ten -- remember Bo Derek?).  We planned to anchor there because of the glowing reports about the location we had received from other cruisers.  Maybe it was the Semana Santa crowds – maybe we just have a different perspective – but after motoring around in circles trying to dodge power boats and jet skis and find a place to anchor we decided that there must be a better place for us to spend the night!
 

Bahia Santiago  -- May 29 to 30

We back-tracked about four miles to Santiago Bay.  We’d initially decided that Santiago Bay was likely to be too crowded due to the holiday crowds, but after the buzzing crowds in the small anchorage off of Las Hadas it looked just fine.

We spent the day wandering among the crowds on the beach.  The crowds were ten-people deep in the water, and as noted earlier, we could barely find a place to eat.  We ended up eating in the back of an enramada further along the beach from the one that was full, squeezed with other late-comers into the area at the back usually occupied by the person machete-ing coconuts and the staff’s children.  The area was still being used for the machete-ing of coconut and the staff’s children – we were all just squeezed in with them.     

Our day at Santiago Bay was fun in the way that going to a big fair is fun.  The guys that run the tourist boat ride concessions were totally cool about helping us maneuver the dinghy through the crowds of swimmers and onto and the off of the beach.  Beach walkers were universally friendly, wishing us buenas tardes.  Vendors were everywhere: elaborately carved fruit on skewers, platters of sweets, bathing suit stores on wheels, piles of blown-up beach floats, ice cream carts. . . etc..  There were strolling musicians, kids at play, and ongoing family dynamics (apparently if a male member of the family becomes too inebriated, one cure is to bury him in the sand and let him sleep it off). 

We were still enjoying the holiday spirit when we returned to Abracadabra.  We drank a beer and watched various banana boat rides (those long floats that are pulled behind power boats carrying up to ten screaming people) whip by or, on occasion, not:

 

and waved to the crowds on the rock-n-roll blaring tour boats

and the few intrepid (in that crowded bay!) paddle boarders. 

We even waved to people on jet skis (even though they consort with the devil . . .).  But after a while we tired of the competing wakes these boats/jet skis created, and began to pray for darkness, assuming that the concessionaires would quit renting jet skis and taking crowds on banana boat rides.

Darkness finally fell and the holiday activity was limited to the beach.  The waters of the bay became smooth.  We were tired enough that even the competing music venues on shore didn’t keep us awake. 

The next day we decided that, though we think we would like Bahia Santiago in a less-frenzied time, we didn’t want to stay longer.  We departed on one of our longer passages – 189 miles to Zihuatanejo.  More on that in our next post.